Tangled In Cliffjumper's Fury
by Lil' Monroe
Summary: Set during the episode "Traitor". Cliffjumper accuses Mirage of being allies with the Decepticons. Duffy learns of Cliffjumper's remarks and goes along with Mirage to prove his innocence. But with Cliffjumper's rage brewing, Duffy slowly predicts the bad.


KristalShaga: After seeing the episode _Traitor _I came up with this idea. Why not? It was the only episode that revolved around Mirage. The plot and times are focused in the episode _Traitor_. But I added some of my own scenes and a little changes in there. Enjoy!

**Tangled in Cliffjumper's Fury**

The Decepticons were at another attempt to harvest power. They had stolen powerful electro-shells and the Autobots had no idea what for. The two scientists that where the guardians of the electro-shells knew one thing. The energy cells were very sensitive. If they dropped one time, they could set off, making a chain reaction of electricity and danger for the whole planet. When the Autobots hears that Starscream had blown up their funding research center, it became twice as personal.

It had only been a day and a half since the shells went missing and Optimus was sending out every spy he had on his team. Bumblebee came back and reported nothing. Prime caught Beach-Comber down in the forest, feeding song birds and singing along with them. The Autobots swore that Beach-Comber was a little odd on the nature-loving-side. Gears was too much of an afthole to want to get out of his recharging to go search for them. Optimus put all of his faith in Cliffjumper. Even though he was small the mini-bot had ambition and strength that could match Ironhide's.

Two hours had past and some of the Autobots were starting to lose their confidence. "He'll find them," Optimus tried to lift up his soldiers' positive sides; "He'll find them!"

And just as if the Matrix had granted Optimus' word, the red Porsche started pulling up into the Ark. "Good news Prime," Cliffjumper reported with a tinge of disappointed in his voice. He rolled into the communication room and transformed, saluting Optimus. "I've located the missing electro-shells," he finished.

Optimus replied, "Good work Cliffjumper, where?"

"In the same are**Mirage **patrolled yesterday!" Cliffjumper snapped as he pointed a finger at the blue and silver mech.

Mirage's legs nearly gave out but his left one caught him. He dropped his shoulders and dropped his jaw. _How could this have happened?! _Mirage thought and turned toward Cliffjumper. His optics narrowed and darkened with defensive. "Impossible!" he tried to correct the red-horned-Autobot, "I would've picked up a reading on them for sure!" Mirage's confident gut started to sink. An ally was accusing him of something and the leader of the team was right in front of it.

Mirage's blue optics widened as he saw Cliffjumper walking up to him. "Maybe you did but decided to keep quiet," the red mini-bot said again, still pointing at Mirage with his accusing finger. The blue and silver mech was afraid that Cliffjumper had Primus' finger now. Whatever Cliffjumper said or thought about Mirage, the whole teams was probably going to back him up on.

"That's Cliffjumper," came, Prime's voice.

The Autobots stopped and looked at him.

"We don't want bad feelings," he sternly said, "_just_ the electro-shells. He turned his head to the others and said "Autobots, transform." One by one, the Autobots morphed into their vehicle modes and revved out of the Ark……

I was coming up the road hissing in pain each time my knees bent. "Friggin' turkey!" I cursed under my breath. My hands and legs were covered in dirt and scrapes. My red hair was ratty and looked like it hadn't been brushed in days. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears. **That** was how bad my scars felt. I was walking with a thick-walking-stick to lean all my weight on.

My eyes peered down at the scratches and tiny drips of mud on it. My eyes widened when I saw a brown and black feather at the bottom of stick. I took it off and held it only inches away from my face. I blinked and looked down at the bundle of brown fur following me. It had golden eyes and a tail that curled tightly over its back. The creature stopped and glimpsed up at me. It barked happily, wagging its butt and tail.

Suddenly, I burst out laughing. The small animal yelped and ran out of the way. I landed on the ground where it was standing only seconds before. I fell to my back and hugging myself while I rolled with laughter. The small creature sat and blinked. It stuck its tongue out and began to wag its tail from slow to fast. It crawled onto my stomach and began licking my dirty face. "Oh my God, Adrian," I giggled. My laughter was dying down to just a smile. I picked up the squirmy animal, Adrian, and held him only inches away from my eyes. Adrian began to lick my nose while his tail kept wagging.

I sat up cross-legged, ignoring the pain in my knees, and held the animal up. "We should run into turkeys a little more, huh?" I asked. Adrian barked with agreement. Five seconds past and I shook my head. "No, no way am I going to pick a fight with another one of those---"

"Duffy?"

I looked up and screamed when a tire pulled up only a rabbit-length away from me. "JEEZ!" I yelped, dropping Adrian and kicking away from the car. Adrian followed me and hid behind my back.

"Hey, what's this?" a voice came from behind me.

Quickly, I jumped to my aching legs and tripped. I fell on my side and shook my head. Ironhide was investigating Adrian. The small creature barked and growled at him. Ironhide narrowed his "brows" and gave a smug look. "Ahh, it's nothin'," he told himself and waved a hand at the animal, "Puh! Just a mangy, flea-ridden---" Ironhide began to feel something wet running down his foot. He lifted up his arms and looked to his right to see nothing. He peered down to his left and saw the culprit. The small creature had lifted up its little leg and was lubricating a yellow stench all over him!

"**DOOOG!"** the war-veteran screamed and gently kicked the small dog away like a football.

I caught the fleeing puppy and held him close to my chest. "Oh, my poor baby!" I cried.

"Poor him?!" Ironhide roared, "What about me?! I'm gonna rust!"

"Yeah, and the only reason why he choice you was because you were probably the best lookin' hydrant out here in this desert yet," Prowl laughed.

Mirage squatted down next to me and asked where I got the dog. "Nah, you're not gonna believe me," I shook my head, shaking the question off. Mirage urged me to tell. "No," I said. Mirage then threatened me he would have me join the twins' painting time. "…Okay," I said softly and then I stood up still holding Adrian, "I was walking on my way here. I was taking the shortcut through the forest and I saw a car on the bridge. The man pulled a sack out from the back of his car and dumped it into the lake. When he was gone, I went into the lake, pulled it out and opened it. Before I knew it, I scored a dog and named Adrian."

"Riiiiight," Prowl nodded and rolled his optics, "What cartoon did you see that on?"

"Told y' guys you wouldn't believe me," I said.

Before I could react, Mirage had slipped his hands around me and rubbed his right hand down my side. "Well, your clothes are damp," he examined. He skimmed a finger down Adrian's back gently, "So's the dog's fur. Yeah, she's tellin' the truth Prowl." Mirage caught me rubbing my hand down my scraped knees. "What happened to your knees?" the blue and silver mech questioned.

"We stumbled on a turkey in heat," I answered. The Autobots gave me widen-stares. "WHAT?!" I shrugged my shoulders, "Dad told me when animal were in heat, especially birds, they'll attack y' if you get to close to their…_mating boundaries_." The Autobots looked at me if I were crazier from five seconds ago. _Great, "mating boundaries"_I thought to myself.

"You should get to Ratchet, Duffy," Prime broke the awkward silence for my sake. I was about to nod but stopped and quickly shook my head. Optimus sighed, "Why not?"

"I can't stay for long," I told him, "if you guys are going out on a mission, I don't know how much time I'll have to spend with you Mirage." I looked over at the warrior. Optimus told me again to go inside the Ark to see Ratchet before I caught a cold. "C'mon Optimus; I'm fifteen years old now. My dad says I'm strong enough to carry a horse on my back," I pat my dog's wet fur, "Just let me go with you guys…please…" Soon my request had worked.

"Just stay out of the fight," Prowl hissed at me as I got into Mirage's vehicle mode. I glared at him with darkened eyes. I opened my mouth to say protest against Prowl but said nothing. I closed my mouth and looked away from him. No matter what I said, I knew the Autobots had Prowl's back. After all, he **was **superior to Mirage in the army-hierarchy-office.

Meanwhile, further out into the desert, the Decepticons had built a machine of some sort. It harvested the energy cells in it. Megatron planned to use the machine to boost the cells energy level to make energon out of them. "Why do you delay Megatron?" Starscream asked hesitantly, "The power of these energy shells would've been transferred to the energon cubes by now and the Autobots would've been destroyed if I were in charge!"

The leader gave a sneer under his breath, his optics not leaving the control panel. "But I'm in charge Starscream," he replied and turned toward the seeker, "And until I know that the cells are safe, I will **not**risk the energy shells exploding!"

Starscream didn't back down. He puffed up his chest and balled his hands into fists. "Where is the courage your leadership commands? In order to see if something works---" he questioned and walked over to the control panel and pressed the max-button, "You must test it!"

Megatron cried out in terror as he saw what Starscream had done. They had a small argument that didn't last long. At first the energon cubes were filling up more quickly but suddenly the energy in them started to drain out. Just then, the modifying machine started to explode. Both mechs fell on their rears, gawking up at the sparking machine with widen optics. Megatron looked at Starscream and got up and towered over the warrior with his canon. "Because of your foolish move," Megatron growled at the frightened seeker at gun point, "You must pay the price for your insolence!"

Above the ravine; on top of a cliff, the Autobots and I finally got to the Decepticon's hideaway. "There it is, Prime," Cliffjumper announced, "Where Mirage _patrolled yesterday_."

I perked my head at Cliffjumper's words and looked down at Mirage's red optic near the dashboard. "Mirage," I whispered to him, "Why's Cliffjumper so suspicious of you?" Mirage explained and my green eyes grew big. "That isn't true and we both know that!" I hissed with fury. I glared out the window and saw Cliffjumper. "Maybe**he's **the one who we can't trust."

"Hush Duffy," Mirage murmured toward me. Optimus ordered his men to transform and they did. I got out of Mirage and watched him morph into his robot mode. Adrian whined and squirmed in my grip. As I watched the other soldiers jump down into the ravine, I felt Mirage grip my shoulders. I looked up at him and got a sinking feeling in my gut. "You have no right to talk of Cliffjumper that way," he said. I was about to yell at Mirage in protest but his voice sprung up again. "You're not an Autobot. What goes on in an Autobot team stays only with an Autobot soldier that belongs to that team. I know Cliffjumper can be a little suspicious here and there. I just hope his suspicion of me won't last long. Now stay here."

I watched as Mirage leapt from the rocks and shook my head.

"Try to remember which side you're on Mirage," Cliffjumper called over to Mirage. The blue and silver mech gave the red Autobot a glare.

"Keep your minds on the Decepticons, Cliffjumper!" Optimus warned him.

"That's just what I'm doin'!" Cliffjumper swerved his head toward Prime with loyalty in his optics. Mirage almost sneered in disgust at Cliffjumper's fast switch of attitudes. He pictured the mini-bot being blasted in the chest. He then remembered what he had told me and shook his head. Mirage knew he was going to be a good example for me; he had to keep his mind on Megatron and his followers.

I watched from above as Cliffjumper sneaked around the machine that the Decepticons had constructed. He looked around the bend and jumped back when he saw Rumble fire at him from the other side. Cliffjumper climbed on top of the machine and cried in victory in finding an electro-shell. As he reached for it, my eyes got glimpse of a rogue-seeker. "Cliffjumper!" I shouted to warn him. The mini-bot turned around and was confronted by Starscream. Before Cliffjumper could shoot, Starscream's missiles had shot him to the hard-ceiling-floor.

"Not even Cliffjumper deserves that," I murmured to myself and stepped forward, hoping to get a better view of the scene. Starscream was about to finish the Autobot off until I heard Cliffjumper yelled out.

"Okay Prime! Jump 'im!"

I saw Starscream panicking as he looked around. Cliffjumper saw his chance and jumped to his feet and shot Starscream off of the machine's roof. I laughed with amusement as Starscream slid and tumbled down the metallic wall and to the dusty ground below. I admit it. Cliffjumper was as clever as a fox when it came to tricking the enemy.

My eyes blinked and I glimpsed over to see Mirage locked hands with Skywarp. They were like sumo wrestlers, each trying to push the other one out of the circle. I felt the battle heating up when Mirage slipped his right hand loose and scraped it across Skywarp's face. The Decepticon backed off and rubbed his neck. "I didn't feel a thing!" he spat.

"Then how 'bout we try again!" Mirage hailed another punch at the purple and silver seeker.

Skywarp dodged out of the way as Mirage ran right past him, stumbling. Skywarp turned and grabbed Mirage by his arms, locking the Autobot's back to his chest. "Too fast for y' huh? Auto-bum!" Skywarp laughed. Mirage broke loose and lifted Skywarp up above his head and flung the Decepticon ten feet away. I couldn't take it anymore. I tightly wrapped my puppy close to me and slid down the cliff. I had to be careful not to slip. Mirage landed on top of Skywarp and without mercy, started battering his face with fists of iron.

I was almost below into the gorge when I saw what looked like giant-metallic-bugs swoop by me. "May we be of assistance?" I heard one of them say and shot out a missile. The laser-blast missed me by thirty feet…It wasn't a good distance. I lost my balance and began to roll down the hill. I was tightly curled up in a ball, trying to protect Adrian from the dust and gravel that could enter his nose. I came to a sudden stop. Unfortunately, my stopping point was due to a sharp rock that stuck out of the gorge and hit my stomach. I cried out in pain and released Adrian. The puppy jumped from my chest and licked my face. He barked and barked but I didn't respond.

Mirage had been thrown off of Skywarp from the insect's missile and landed on his head and shoulder. In his hand, he gripped the insignia of the Decepticons. Optimus was ordering Megatron to release the electro-shells once again. Before the two leaders got into a scrap-fight, one of the Insecticons' blasts hit the modifying machine by mistake. The earth rumbled and Megatron ran toward the machine. He smothered it with nitrogen, knowing it would calm the electro-shells down.

Prime knew he had to get his men out of here. He turned and ran toward Mirage. On his way, he signaled for his Autobots to retreat with him. "Mirage?" he called down at Mirage's injured body, "Can you still transform?"

"I-I t-think so," Mirage stammered, still dazed from his fall.

"We can't risk further combats so close to the electro-cells," Optimus told his crew and swerved his head, "Autobots, retreat and…"

"Prime!" Ironhide cried out with fear running through his spark from across the battlefield. The Autobots swerved their heads over to the veteran and their optics widened. In his arms was my lifeless body. Mirage stumbled forward and begged Ironhide to tell him what had happened. "I'm not sure." Ironhide's blue eyes deepened in sorrow. "I find her down in the gorge. Dumb kid! She must've tried coming to help, slipped, and fell; opening her belly on a sharp rock." Ratchet gasped when Ironhide lifted up my shirt just enough for the mechs to see my side stained with crimson.

"Ironhide," Ratchet said as he transformed and opened his back doors, "give 'er to me. I'll watch over her until she gets better."

Ironhide bent down on one knee and put me in the back of Ratchet's ambulance mode. Before Ironhide's fingers slipped away from my body, he felt me starting to stir. "Duffy!" he yelped and reached to pick me up again but Ratchet told him quickly to not to. "I don't need help," I murmured, struggling to keep one eye open, "Give it to the others, Ratchet."

"Use that bit of energy you have left to keep awake," Ratchet sternly told me. I was about to protest by a sudden pain twisted through my stomach. I yelped and fall back to my side, curled in a trembling ball. Mirage jumped in fright and almost bent over to take me into his arms. Optimus grabbed him by the shoulders and shook his head. Adrian was behind Ratchet and was barking for me. "Mirage, take Duffy's dog back to the base will y'? I'll tend to you after I'm done with the girl."

Mirage nodded, scooped up Adrian, and transformed into his vehicle mode with Adrian inside of him. On their way back to the Ark, Mirage wasn't permitted to set foot on the ground until Ratchet came to check on him. He lied on a recharging table, trying to rest himself up for the medic's check up. Ratchet had brought me in the same room with Mirage to reassure him that his human was alright. I hated being in this state. My legs craved to walk like a baby bird craved to fly for the first time. Ratchet ignored the shuffling of my feet and was pressing a towel to my side to stop the bleeding.

Mirage watched as Ratchet carried me over to him. The medic bent over and instructed the Autobot on the correct way to hold me. Mirage slipped both hands around me so I wouldn't fall while his thumb pressed against my towel. My eyelids felt like barbells. They were too heavy for me to lift them up and see Mirage. I tried but when Ratchet saw my struggling, he went over to a cabinet. He opened a flap and pulled out something as small as a flea compared to him. He came back over and Mirage turned me to face what the medic had. But before Ratchet gave me what he had, he put it into a cup of water. "Go ahead Duffy," Ratchet said, "drink some water to soothe your dry throat."

Cliffjumper came and saw the scene. He laid his back against the wall and folded his arms tightly across his chest. He gave a smug look at Mirage and his optics caught Ratchet trying to force me to drink the water. "I'm not drinkin' it!" I hissed as I tried clawing my way out of Mirage's grip. _I'm not stupid _I said silently to myself_, This is the same trick they used on me when I first came here!_

"Come on, kid!" Ratchet grunted as I swerved my head away from each direction the tainted water was in.

I was beginning to think that Ratchet's attempts weren't going to work this time. Just then, Cliffjumper peered from behind the physician. "Lemme try," the red mini-bot offered. Ratchet sighed and shrugged his shoulders. What did he have to lose? He handed Cliffjumper the water and the mini-bot looked at me and narrowed his optics. He grabbed my head and tried pulling it toward the cup of water. Mirage barked at Cliffjumper to leave me alone but the mini-bot sneered. "She's only stubborn…just like you Mirage." It felt like an insult to me when Cliffjumper got hold of my head and was forcing the water down my throat. I had no choice but to drink it or drown with the water backed up in my throat. I forced to keep my eyes opened. The last thing I saw was a Decepticon symbol in Mirage's right hand until it blurred out of my vision. Within minutes, I was asleep.

Mirage gave my lifeless body to Ratchet. The medic took me over to a table to lay me down. While he did that, Mirage gave Cliffjumper an irritated glare. "You didn't have to do **that!**" he growled at the mini-bot. Mirage saw Cliffjumper about to open his mouth to defend himself but Mirage spoke up again, "I can't believe I told Duffy to not be angry at you. I told her to trust you. And now she's going to think I'm a big hypocrite for allowing you to force that sedative down her throat!"

Cliffjumper's face was expressionless. He shrugged, "So? Not my problem. Besides, she was being too much of a little glitch to allow Ratchet to…"

"That's enough you two," Ratchet warned them both as he came back. In his arms he carried tools and energon for Mirage to take in to recover. Jus then, Optimus, Ironhide, and Prowl came in to see how Mirage was doing. Optimus saw my body and told Prowl and Ironhide to keep questions about me silent for Mirage's sake. Prime went over and stood at Mirage's side. The surgery took a half an hour but Ratchet was almost done. Cliffjumper was still a raging storm. "Just a few twists to the Bo capper and you'll be as good as new Mirage," Ratchet gave a reassuring smile to the warrior.

"We would've had those cells yesterday if Mirage had reported them in the first place!" Cliffjumper had paced back and forth and stopped. He looked back over to Mirage, clutching his fists.

"I already told you!" Mirage coughed, "They weren't there!"

"I say they were and**you** didn't **report **it!" Cliffjumper marched over to Mirage, daggering a finger at him.

"Hold on, Cliffjumper," Optimus stopped the argument and the red mini-bot looked up at him. "Until you can back your remarks with proof, I'll take Mirage's word. Now, I want you to go to the ridge and maintain surveillance of those electro-cells. If the Decepticons try to move 'em…I want to know about it at once." A big smile grew on Cliffjumper's face. He hid it from the others, especially Mirage.

"You can depend on me Prime!" Cliffjumper replied willingly. _Finally, my chance to get the others to believe me _the mini-bot thought proudly to him self.

Ratchet told Mirage to stay where he was and rest until he came back. The blue and silver Autobot watched as the others left the medical bay. "Rest?" he narrowed his darkened optics with determination, "I don't need rest!" Mirage opened his hand and that revealed the Decepticon insignia torn from Skywarp's chest. Mirage got up to leave. His feet felt like he was walking on broken glass that was heated up by fire. He was careful not to wake me as he past the table a laid on. As the Autobot went toward the exit, I opened my eyes.

"Mirage," I said, still trying to recover from the sedative's aftereffects, "Hmm…Let me go with you." My legs trembled as I got to my knees and tried to support myself by standing up. Mirage told me to stay where I was. "Mirage, I don't blame those friggin' flying insects for me falling off the side of the cliff. It was mine. I admit it. It was my choice to go down into the battlefield to see if I could help. The missiles were just coincidence. That's how I slipped and cut my side against that sharp rock." I looked around and a cringe of weariness crept into my stomach. "WHERE'S ADRIAN?!" I cried out looking from left to right.

"Don't worry," Mirage waved it off with his hand, "Hound's watching 'im." He watched as my eyes met his optics once more. "But don't blame yourself, kid. It was an accident. No one's at fault in situations like this...But if you ask me, it's more of the Insecticons fault."

"Is that what they're called?" I sneered in amusement, "_Insecticons?_" Mirage saw me getting up and sighed. He knew no matter what he did, I was going to keep urging him to take me with him.

He picked me up from the table and set me on the ground. He transformed and opened his car door. "Alright," he sighed with regret mixed in, "get in." I did and climbed into the passenger seat. "But if Ratchet finds out I took you, you'll have to share half of the punishment he gives us." I looked at him and shrugged……

We were coming up the road to where the Insecticons' base was located. Mirage told me to get out and wait in the bushes. I obeyed and found the thickest bush in the woods. I watched as Mirage used his camouflage ability to turn invisible and walked inside. In the base, the Insecticons were griping about their low payment for helping rid the Autobots for Megatron.

"Two measly energon cubes?" One of the Insecticons spat, "Is that Megatron's idea of a reward?!"

"I'd say that's pretty good," another tried to look at the positive side.

"But Megatron has so_many more_!" the first Insecticon's voice sprung up again.

As quick as possible, Mirage entered the room, still invisible, and picked up the two energon cubes. Purposely, he dropped the Decepticon symbol on the same spot that the cubes were only five seconds ago. He turned and ran with the energon cubes in tow. He came out and turned his camouflage off and gave me a thumbs up from behind the bushes. I jumped up and ran toward him as he transformed into his F-1 Ligier mode. Carefully, I lifted myself into his seat. I then placed the two energon cubes securely in the passenger seat, noting not to have them press against my side-wound. Mirage sped off until we came to the Decepticons' storage center.

He let me out and transformed. I saw a bright gleam in his blue optics as he looked down at the cubes in his arms as if it were his sparkling. I could understand Mirage's purpose for sneaking around like this. One of his army-mates, a mate you're supposed to trust, accused him of being allies with the enemy. It must've burned in his spark to prove to Cliffjumper that he wasn't a traitor. "So when're you going to give those energon cubes to Cliffjumper?" I asked.

Mirage looked down at me is if I were stoned.

"What?!" I blurted out in defense.

"Give these to Cliffjumper?" He questioned with confusion in his tone, "…Is that what you thought I was going to do with these?" I nodded. "Sorry Duffy. I should've told you earlier. I'm going to make it look as if the Decepticons had stolen these energon cubes back from the Insecticons. I don't think I need to explain the rest of my plan." I nodded again.

Unknowingly, just above the ravine, a silhouette was stalking us. The stalker pointed his gun down at Mirage. As soon as a few clouds covered the sun's rays, Cliffjumper could be seen holding the weapon. "Just as I suspected," Cliffjumper murmured, "Mirage is helping the Decepticons…" His eyes and gunpoint were set on Mirage like a flying hawk down to its prey on the forest floor. The blue and silver mech bent down to drop the energon cubes. Cliffjumper's optics caught me and he jumped. _Thievery and now kidnapping?! _The mini-bot blurted silently. That pulled the line for him. "I could never fire on a fellow Autobot, but Mirage is **no longer** one of us!" Cliffjumper was ready to pull the trigger……

_**WOOOOOSSHHH!!! **_

"Perfect!" Mirage looked up to see the Insecticons flying overhead, "My plan's working already! Duffy, go run into that opening in the canyon. I'll meet you there and as soon as the coast is clear, we'll leave." He watched me run into the cave and hid in the darkness. In Mirage's mind, this plan was going to get his, mine, and the Autobots' revenge back on everything that others had caused them. Mine, for when the Insecticons' missiles had caused me to slip and cut my side. The Autobot's for when the Decepticons had stolen the electro-cells and caused damage to the Autobot warriors who fought to reclaim them. And for his when Cliffjumper had blamed him as a Decepticon ally and denying his vow that he was loyal to the Autobots.

"Time for me to repression myself," Mirage camouflaged himself.

"I'll report the Insecticon activity to Prime as soon as I take care of that traitor,_Mirage_," Cliffjumper turned to face the ravine below. He got his gun ready to fire and saw nothing to aim at. "Where'd he go?!"

Slowly, Cliffjumper lowered his gun as he began to hear footsteps closing in on behind him. "Uh oh," he murmured, "look's like I'm not alone."

"You're not!" raised a familiar voice.

Cliffjumper swerved himself around to see his opponent, "Starscream!"

"And this is one of those times when you really need a friend," a smirk grew on the seeker's face as he held his arm-missile at the red-horned-Autobot. Suddenly, Starscream heard something hover overhead. He lost his focus on Cliffjumper and looked up at the sky to see what it was. "Wh…?"

_**Now! **_Cliffjumper told himself and lunged at Starscream. He transformed into his vehicle mode and slammed his hood again Starscream like a bull against a bull-tamer. Starscream's back collided in with the ground as the red Porsche jumped off him and onto the dusty road and escaped. The commotion attracted the Insecticons from above and they flew down to inspect it. They transformed into their robot modes as their feet touched the ground, missing Cliffjumper by a few seconds. Mirage un-camouflaged him self by accident. He lost control after seeing the mini-bot rev out of sight; a thick trail of dust behind him.

Starscream wasn't surprised to see that it was Megatron who distracted him from shooting at the Autobot. The leader's feet touched the ground, looked at Starscream, and demanded, "What were you firing at Starscream?"

"An Autobot spy," the seeker answered pitifully.

"Obviously, you missed!"

Starscream's optics caught Mirage and a quirky smile appeared on his face. He rose up his missile arm and pointed it at the Autobot. "But I won't miss him!" the seeker cackled with amusement. From inside the cavern, I could see this. My pupils shrunk and my green eyes turned hollow.

I cried, "MIRAGE LOOK----!!"

**BAM! BAM! **

Quickly, Mirage ducked below the rocks. Thank Primus they were thick enough to block the Decepticon firing. The Insecticons nearly escaped the lasers being shot and looked over to see who was letting them off. "They're firing on us!" hisses one of the Insecticons, **"It's an ambush!!"**

"ATTACK!" they screamed and leapt at who they believed to be the enemy.

Mirage laughed as he made it back over to me. I was panting fast with my mouth opened tasting the battlefield's envy. Mirage just thought of it as a game. Mirage saw my distraught face and shook his head. He reached in to slip his hands around me. "Y' gotta lighten up Duffy. Time for us to disappear out of---**AUGH!!!"**

A scrap-fight between Skywarp and one of the Insecticons had been going on. When one of the shots was fired, it had hit Mirage in the shoulder. The Autobot's camouflage came undone and his body was visible. His hand wrapped around his burning shoulder and he curled up, his back against the side of the cave. "Mirage!" I yelped to reach and help him. The Autobot pushed me back into the cavern.

"**Stay there!"** he said.

I was about to protest but saw the Insecticons moving toward Mirage's limp body. "Where did this one come from? I can finish him off!" one of them announced, holding a gun to his head. I tried not to scream. I sunk low and pressed my back against the damp wall. It was damp in the cave and some water dripped until my back.

"No!" another stepped forward. He had a faceplate that looked like a knight's helmet. It was Bombshell. "We came make use of him. He seemed like he brains of the operation to me. The Insecticon transformed into a metallic beetle. Bombshell used his beetle-horn to puncture and indentation into Mirage's forehead. I looked closer and saw that it was a controlling chip of some sort. "I've implanted a cerebral shell on him. It will compel him to obey only us!" The beetle transformed back into robot mode and announced, "Stand up Autobot-slave!"

My eyes widen when I saw Mirage stumble to his feet, still dazed.

"Select a target!**Now!**"

Mirage looked to Skywarp who was escaping and fired off his giant missile at him. It was an energon-tracking-missile so no matter what, it hit the fleeing seeker. The explosion illuminated a bright glow against my face, lighting up the cavern. I jumped back and landed on my side. I almost screamed in pain but remembered the Insecticons. I cut my scream short and closed my mouth tight. A few Insecticons stirred when they heard my sharp scream but ceased their suspicions when they heard the scientist's words again.

"This is going to be quite enjoyable!" he cackled menacingly.

As I watched them leave, my heart pounded heavily. I felt like crying but held my tears in. "I have to think," I said taking in some air and exhaled. I hugged my knees and rocked back and forth uneasily. "I can travel back to the base and warn the others. But If my bandages come undone and I reopen my wound, I'll lose blood and…ugh!!" I threw my face into my head, rocking faster. _Quiet or they'll hear you! _I told myself. I stopped my rocking and looked toward the opening of the cavern. The light shined bright. A beautiful day like this symbolized victory. Right now, I was blind to this beautiful day………

At the Autobot base, Optimus and Ratchet were in the control room. They were depending on Teleltran-1 to find their lost friends but the master computer couldn't pick anything up.

"And when I got back to the repair bay, Mirage and Duffy were gone!" Ratchet explained to Prime, "I thought the sedative I gave her would've knocked her out for a little longer but…I just don't know where Mirage went."

"I'll tell you all about Mirage!" Cliffjumper revved into the room and transformed. He looked serious. "He's at the storage center helping his friends, the Decepticons!"

"I've warned you about making unfounded allegations, Cliffjumper!" Prime's optics darkened. The leader wasn't going to have his team turn into a batch of civil-less-blame pointing-Decepticons.

"But I saw him with my own optics! He was taking two energon cubes to their storage area!" Cliffjumper blurted out in his defense. His legs trembled as his optics gleamed with anticipation. He didn't care that he was begging Prime to believe him. Cliffjumper thought what he was saying was the best for his team and his devotion to it.

"But where would Mirage get energon cubes?" Ratchet questioned, giving another shot to back up Mirage's innocence.

"I dunno," Cliffjumper waved the question of with his hand, "Oh! And get this. He took Duffy."

"What?! You saw her?" Prime asked in shock, "Did you bring her back?!"

"Snatched. Grabbed. Kidnapped. Whatever you'd like to call it and…" The mini-bot frowned in disgrace. He lowered his head so Prime couldn't see his optics, "And um…no…I couldn't get her back. She's still at the Decepticon's storage center. I'm sorry to her and to you Prime." He lifted up his head with confidence and held up fists, "But all I know is that Mirage is a traitor and that we need to find Mirage and put him out of commission f---"

"NO!" Prime barked, "You're not sorry Duffy." He folded his arms tightly across his chest, "You're only sorry because you were unable to convince the Autobot leader that he has a "traitor" amongst his team. The only thing that's clear here is to go to the storage center, find Duffy and Mirage, and save those electron-shells." Cliffjumper walked away and sneered.

"Then?" he asked looking over his shoulder to Prime.

"Then Ratchet and I will hear Mirage's side of the story."

"I didn't hear _me_in that sentence," Cliffjumper's "brows" narrowed.

"That's because you're staying here," Optimus turned from his soldier. He and Ratchet transformed into their vehicle modes. Hound had entered the sector, chuckling as Adrian ran circles around his feet. He did some research and found out that Adrian's breed belonged to the Tibetan Mastiff. The puppy wagged his curly tail and hopped onto his hind legs. It scratched Hound's leg.

"Aw," he laughed, "y' wanna come up?" He bent down and carefully lifted the puppy up by two fingers.

"Mirage," Prime called and the green and tan Autobot looked over to him, "Watch Cliffjumper and makes sure he doesn't leave the Ark grounds." Mirage paused for a minute to think of Optimus' reason. "Don't bother with trying to figure it out;" Optimus called to him and drove out of the room with Ratchet at his side, "I'm sure Cliffjumper will be willing to explain _everything._"

Back at the battlefield, the shooting was continuing. The Insecticons were shooting from behind the rocky terrain. The shots were increasing and Bombshell was getting worried. "Fire Slave!" he called toward Mirage who was right next to him. Mirage got up and fired off his shoulder-canon. It flew toward Thundercracker and hit the seeker in the chest. "Good shot!" The Insecticon cheered.

"A new _toy_Bombshell? But you're not going to have long to play with it" came, a voice that plunged fear into the scientist's spark.

Bombshell turned around and saw Megatron. The Decepticon leader pointed his canon straight at the quivering scientist. "Sooo," a sense of amusement trailed into Megatron's voice, "two energon cubes weren't enough for you. Now you want to steal our electro-shells?"

"You stole from us!" Bombshell spat.

"What gave you that absurd idea?"

"A Decepticon insignia lying right where our energon cubes had been."

"So that's what happ---" Megatron words stopped when he saw Mirage. He pointed his gun at him. "This Autobot ripped it off from the battle earlier…" As the two tried to make peace, their unsolved answers for why the other enemy had done to the other were starting to unfold. They ordered their men to stop firing and the weapons ceased.

Meanwhile, I had snuck out of the crevice. I was trying to climb out of the ravine but it was hard. I got a cut here and there but they were only small. My clothes were torn and my red hair looked almost brown from the dirt and dust. I looked back down when I couldn't hear the battlefield full of gun going off. Finding a place to sit, I sat down and looked miserably over the ravine's edge… "THEIR GUNS ARE POINTED AT MIRAGE!" I wailed out.

"We were deceived by this walking garbage can!" Bombshell explained, "You shall pay for it Autobot!"

I felt that I was going to leap from where I stood to aid Mirage. Luckily, Megatron stepped forward and knocked Bombshell's gun out of the way. "No Bombshell!" he hissed, "Why destroy a perfectly good slave when _I_have a plan to use him?" he looked at Mirage and back at Bombshell, "To finish off the Autobots…Her me out."

I wiped my eyes off with my sleeve. They felt burnt from the sun and my side was starting to ache again. I had no choice but to leave Mirage to get to his friends in order to help him. "Mirage will be safe---" I said with closed eyes, "---for now." Just then, I yelped.

"There you are!" A voice sprung from behind me.

There was no time for me to run. Someone had grabbed me from behind and started pulling me back. The captive had grabbed me around the arms so I was practically vulnerable. He lifted me up and held me tightly to his chest. I felt hard metal and thought the worst…a Decepticon. I looked up and sighed with relief. It was Hound.

"Quiet!" I hear Cliffjumper's voice.

He was crouched down and was aiming down into the ravine. He caught a glimpse of Mirage walking toward the ravine.

"I'm trying to lock onto Mirage."

"He's not your enemy!" I grunted kicking my legs getting no where.

"You're just a sparkling," Cliffjumper rolled his optics, "you're not old enough to understand these kinds of things."

Hound wrinkled his nose and set me down. "You think you're so sure of Mirage that you can just fire at him whenever you'd like?" the green Autobot demanded, "If you hadn't had noticed. The only reason why we came out here was to find Duffy and get back to base."

"I'm not leavin'," Cliffjumper took aim at Mirage, "Not until…."

"**LEAVE 'IM!!" **

**BANG!**

"Are you crazy kid?!" Cliffjumper spat at me. Before the mini-bot was going to pull the trigger, I jumped at his gun and forced it away from where Mirage stood. I thanked God that Cliffjumper wasn't focusing his attention on me that much. If he had seen my quick actions, he would've gotten the upper hand and shot Mirage. He threw me off his gun and I landed on my shoulder and side.

"It's not Mirage's fault that he's acting like this!" I cried at him, over the pain of my side stinging, "Bombshell---!!"

"CLIFFJUMPER! HOUND!"

We turned our heads over to Optimus and ratchet climbing up the ravine side on which we stood upon. Ratchet lifted his optics and saw me. He dropped his jaw and ran over and bent down on one knee to check my condition. "Are you insane, Duffy?!" he scolded at me, "Don't tell it's too hard for a _fifteen year old_ like yourself to realize that she can't be wandering around out here with a side-wound!"

I opened my mouth to throw words back at the medic but Optimus had stopped me. He turned back toward Cliffjumper and said, "Well, we're here Cliffjumper! And I don't see any Insecticons, Decepticons **or **Mirage." Optimus optics then locked onto my titled head. He knew I was locking the secret to Mirage's location in my closed mouth. "Duffy, do you know Mirage's whereabouts." I kept silent. "Duffy, please, this is urgent. We have to talk to Mirage in order to see if Cliffjumper's rumors are correct."

"They aren't_rumors_!" Cliffjumper began to get angry again, "I saw him working with the Decepticons. I'd swear to it!"

"He's only half-right," came, a familiar voice.

We turned around to see Mirage. I blinked and looked up. The cerebral shell was still attached to his forehead! I tried to warn Optimus but Ratchet snatched me up from behind and silenced me.

"I got rid of the Decepticons and their friends. But I had no action with them whatsoever," Mirage's voice was stern and clear.

"MORE LIES, **TRAITOR**!" Cliffjumper spat and pointed his weapon at Mirage.

Prime quickly lowered his gun and barked, "No Cliffjumper! I want to hear more of Mirage's story." Optimus straightened himself to look optic-to-optic with the blue and silver Autobot. "Mirage, Cliffjumper claims that you took two energon cubes to the Decepticons. Do you deny it?"

"No," Mirage said without hesitation. I couldn't believe what the enemies were making Mirage say. He could be blast to scrap metal by Cliffjumper for saying that! "I brought them here so that the Insecticons would think that the Decepticons stole it from them…" Optimus nodded for him to continue. "And then they began to fight each other. The Insecticons fled and the Decepticons followed them, now we can get the electro-shells, Prime!!"

"Don't listen to a word that cyber-rat says, Optimus!" Cliffjumper urged his leader, "My cyber paleographic is screaming "SCRAP!" I knew Cliffjumper's "cyber-whatever" was still not convinced of Mirage's explanation.

"Perhaps," nodded Prime, "But we have to check it out." Optimus faced Ratchet who had bear-hugged me to his chest. My small arms were underneath his massive ones so I couldn't move them. "Ratchet, I'm sorry, but can you stay here and make sure Duffy doesn't try to follow us---" I saw Prime's blue eyes narrow at me. "---like she did the first time that had caused the injury to her side."

I looked up at Ratchet. The medic looked disappointed. His darkening optics showed it. He wanted to go into the battle and fight but not with Optimus ordering him to watch me. A pang of guilt started to sink into me. I just couldn't understand why Cliffjumper could go though. I glared at him but my eyes relaxed when I came to think about it. Prime was always concerned about humans, especially ones that were friends with his team. And right now, Cliffjumper was extremely hostile at Mirage. And knowing that I had become Mirage's human companion, Optimus knew he couldn't trust the mini-bot to watch me!

I shook my head.

There was no reason that Ratchet had to stay behind on a mission because of my stupid mistakes.

"Optimus, I won't go anywhere," I promised him with seriousness rolled into my tone.

"And what if you do?" Optimus' voice darkened in question.

"……I'll allow you to never trust me again."

The Autobots flinched at my conclusion, even Mirage (who was still controlled by Bombshell) twitched with shock. I could sense that there was still some of Mirage left in him. Cliffjumper rolled back his shoulders and lowered his gun. _Here I'm begging for Prime to believe me and __**she's**__agreeing to let Prime not trust her if she disobeys him?!_he thought to himself. Hound was waiting for me to burst out that it was only a joke. After a minute had past his eyes widened with surprise.

"Alright," Optimus spoke to me as if I were one of his men, "if you leave this spot, Duffy, you said it yourself. I'll never trust your word _again_."

Prime nodded for Ratchet to put me down at the medic squatted, releasing me onto my feet. As I watched the Autobots transform into their vehicle modes, I quickly remembered Bombshell! They began driving off, leaving me up the ravine. "Optimus!" I called, trying to chase after them. Their revving tires made it impossible for them to hear me. I kept running as fast as my legs could carry me but legs couldn't compete with tires. Once they turned around the bend, I had lost them out of sight. My legs trembled, as did my shoulders. My eyebrows curled with dismay. There was nothing I could do to tell Prime of the cerebral shell attached to Mirage's forehead. His fate was in the hands of the outcomes of this battle. I shivered. Seeing Mirage drive around the bend could be the last time I ever see him……

The Autobots made it down into the pit. The Decepticons and Insecticons were waiting behind the towering rocks with their guns at their sides. Megatron saw the Autobots rolling in and signaled with a wave of his hand for them all to fire upon the enemy. At the struck of a heartbeat, the Decepticons and Insecticons emerged from their hiding places and started shooting at Optimus and the others. "Hang on!" Cliffjumper wailed as they dodged the blasts, "It's a trap!"

"Y' _THINK_?!" Hound snapped at him and transformed. He got his gun ready and by the time he landed on the ground, he was firing back at their attackers.

Mirage swerved around and drove fifty feet away from his friends. He transformed and started shooting at them. _I told them! _Cliffjumper barked silently. He, Optimus, and Ratchet drove in back of a giant rock that shielded them from the missiles.

"Take cover!" Optimus ordered as he transformed and hid behind giant boulder with Ratchet and Hound at his side. They started setting off their weapons up at Megatron and the others. Cliffjumper walked past them. He circled around the giant rock and loaded his gun. He saw Mirage's back turned and all of his concealed raged exploded in one blow.

"You son of a glitch!" Cliffjumper screamed as he tossed his gun. An Autobot in fury didn't need to finish off a traitor using a gun like a coward. The blue and silver Autobots turned around just in time to see Cliffjumper only twenty feet away. "I'VE BEEN WAITIN' A LONG TIME FOR THIS!!"

The mini-bot jumped into the air and landed on the _traitor_, knocking him onto his back. Cliffjumper started colliding his fists into Mirage's face without mercy.

As this went on, I was viewing it from above the ditch. I gasped and felt like throwing up. The sight of seeing my friend being beaten to nothing was too much for me to take in. I had to do something. As I lifted my right foot to step forward, I stopped. The vow that I had promised to Prime was buzzing through my head. 'Alright' he had said, 'if you leave this spot, Duffy, you said it yourself. I'll never trust your word again.' I inhaled and exhaled deeply. Looking at the ground, I began scuffling my feet.

Just then, I started to hear shuffling on the gravel floor.

Like a fox, I sunk low and crept over to the edge to look down. I saw Bombshell.

He had his back against the canyon wall and his arms and legs stretched out. The Insecticon was only six feet away from falling off the edge. He held his weapon in his hand and held it close to his chest. I raised a brow in curiosity. My ears picked up Cliffjumper's shouting and I looked to that direction. Suddenly, my jaw dropped.

I peered back at Bombshell. He was right above the mini-bot and Mirage now! He lifted up his gun and looked at his targets. Slowly, his finger curled around the trigger and a joyful cackle escaped from his face-plate.

Cliffjumper had pounded Mirage's face to nearly nothing. He rose up his fist. "One more blow to the head and it's offline for y---Wh?!!" Cliffjumper heard screaming and lowered his balled up hands. He looked up and his optics grew big.

Bombshell had turned and glimpsed up to see me. I stood fifteen feet up from him. I rolled up my lips to reveal my canines and hissed, barked, and made any other threatening animal sound that I could think of. To my fortune, Bombshell thought I was growing mad. He probably thought I carried the cosmic rust disease like a rabid animal carried rabies. Cliffjumper yelped when Bombshell accidentally fired his weapon and the bullet only skidded past the mini-bot's shoulder. Startled, the scientists had lost his balance and fell from the two hundred foot drop.

"AAAAGGHHHH!!!!"

Cliffjumper and mirage watched in horror as the screaming Insecticon came down from the sky. The mini-bot's head followed Bombshell all the way down until he heard a big **CLANG! **The Autobots optics darkened as if they had blinked when they saw Bombshell hit the ground. The Autobots fear rose back up when Bombshell's dead hand came back to life. His gun was lying on two feet away from his and he reached for it. His trembling hand soon gave out and it dropped back to his side.

Trembling with fear, Cliffjumper looked up at me. I was panting heavily. I was shivering too. Not in my life had I done something so loyal but life-risking at the same time. Resting on my knees, I lied gently on my side, and looked down at Cliffjumper and Mirage. My eyes were half-closed. Cliffjumper's hysterical face relaxed to a small smile up at me. His smile soon vanished and he rubbed his face with his hands. He rubbed hard to scrub away the hard feelings and envy.

Looking toward Mirage, Cliffjumper sighed. Right now, he wasn't sure if Mirage was a traitor or not. Could Duffy have stopped Bombshell from murdering Mirage just for the sake that she cared for him? Was it just Insecticon actions to fire upon their allies without hesitation?

Ratchet ran toward Mirage and bent down. "I can't believe any Autobot would turn against his own kind, willingly!" he murmured. He found the cerebral shell on his forehead and plucked it off. "What's this?"

Mirage groaned as his body quaked, "Ohh…"

"No wonder Mirage set us up!" Prime spoke up.

"One of Bombshell's cerebral shells!" Ratchet exclaimed.

"Yeah, no sh---AGHH!!" I hissed in pain, feeling my side ache.

"Then Mirage isn't a traitor!" Cliffjumper's optics widened.

"I never---wanted to do anything---to go against my fellow---Autobots," Mirage explained, still dazed. Ratchet helped him up and supported him on his feet. "I only…"

"We know, Mirage," Ratchet gave a reassuring pat on the confused Autobot's shoulder.

"Don't worry, just forget it," Optimus gently advised him. Mirage turned around and saw me lying on top of a ravine ledge. "Duffy!" he spat, "I_thought _you promised to…"

"Don't blame her Prime!" Cliffjumper came into the picture. I looked down at him and held my breath. Was he going to convince Optimus to banish me from the Autobot base for good? "She had an explanation for disobeying your order…" Cliffjumper looked down to where his spark was. "A very…**good** explanation. I was an afthole in accusing Mirage and pounding him. But you see that over there?" he nodded over to Bombshell's unconscious body. "That could've been Mirage and me if Duffy hadn't had scared him off the side of the ravine."

"A little human?!" Ratchet's optics gleamed, "Scare a giant Insecticon off a cliff?!"

"Watch it!" I wrinkled my nose at him.

Ratchet had to laugh with amusement. "And I thought I've seen everything!" he blurted out.

We retreated soon after. The Decepticons think we had fled…….

"It looks like Megatron's ready for the last part of his plan," Optimus observed the enemies from behind the safety of our giant rock. "As soon as they're distracted, we'll make a run for the electro-shells." He turned to his men. "You three, follow me!"

"But Mirage's injuries," Hound reminded.

"We'll worry about that later!" Prime said and waved his arm for them to follow, "Come on!" Cliffjumper and Mirage watched as Hound, Ratchet, and Optimus ran into the battlefield

Cliffjumper looked down at me. I was lying on my knees, very fawn-like. "I'm sorry, Mirage," the mini-bot said with a lowered head. He shook it, "I was wrong about you…**both **of you. Duffy…I could've been killed if you hadn't…"

"It was nothing," I cut him off. I wanted to keep Cliffjumper from losing his rage-streak as much as possible. "Besides, after getting a clearer hearing from his voice, he was the same Insecticon that fired at me, making me cut my side against that sharp rock…" I saw Mirage's optics increase in size. "Don't worry about me, go and help Optimus."

Optimus had chase Megatron into the Decepticon storage center.

"Move or you're vaporized!" Megatron hissed the warning at Prime.

"You lost Megatron," Optimus pointed behind the Decepticon leader.

Megatron looked over his shoulder and sneered. Ratchet, Hound, Cliffjumper, and Mirage had surrounded him with their guns pointing right at him. "It look's so," he said with bright scarlet optics, "But if I can't have the electro-cells, NO ONE CAN!!" Megatron aimed his canon at Optimus and fired.

The Autobot leader jumped out of the way, seconds before the powerful blast hit the storage bin containing the electro-shells. The Autobots watched helplessly as Megatron shot the whole storage center down. All they could do was flee for their sparks.

Bombshell had recovered from his fall and escaped with his men. "RETREAT!" He yelled in fear, **"RETREAT!!"**

Mirage and the others had gotten to me. "Autobots!" cried Optimus, "Transform and roll out!" All at once the Autobots shifted into their vehicle modes. Mirage opened his passenger seat for me to get in.

"Easy, Duffy!" Mirage told me as I tried to hurry into his seat. He then chuckled, "Cliffjumper battered me harder than you think!"

"I resent that!" Cliffjumper muttered as we sped back off to the base.

When we got back to the base, Optimus had invited the scientists over to explain what happened to their work in person. Prime thought it was the only respectful thing to do. "We're sorry," he said, "We know the loss of your electro-shells was a serious blow to your research."

The older scientists blinked. "You did what had to be done," He smiled. There was pang of forgiveness in his words. "At least the chain-reaction did not harm the Earth."

Startled, I jumped back when I heard the running foot steps of the other, younger, scientists approaching. "AND thanks to you and the other Autobots the Decepticons failed to harvest the energy in the shells!"

"It probably would've been only Ratchet, Hound, and I that would've saved the shells," Optimus confessed. He looked down at me. I was holding Adrian in my arms and had kept quiet throughout the whole conversation. "Y' see one of my warrior's, Mirage's, friend had saved him and Cliffjumper from being shot down by one of the enemy. Gentlemen, this is Duffy Carden."

The scientists looked at me with grateful eyes. "Well if there's anything you'd like as a reward, just ask it," The elderly scientist offered.

I hated corny introductions like this. I had to ruin it.

"Do y' invent anything that could make my side heal completely in just minutes?" I asked.

Meanwhile, Ratchet had just finished repairing Mirage's face. "There," he said, "That oughta take care of that hole from the Decepticon's cerebral shell and Cliffjumper's fi---"

"H-Hey, Mirage!" Cliffjumper ran up to the blue and silver Autobot's side and pushed Ratchet aside, "I have just one thing to say to you---"

I came into the room with Adrian licking my face as he wagged his tail. "Hey guys!" I called to Mirage and the others with joy, "I called my Dad and he said I could keep Adrian. Looks like Ironhide's goin' to havta get used to being the fire hydrant from now on, huh?"

They didn't hear me.

"Yeah?" Mirage asked with a feeling that Cliffjumper's rage against him was working back up again, "What's that?"

The mini-bot lifted himself onto the repair-table with his hand and landed on Mirage's chest. "Mooove over!" he grinned.

Mirage quickly sat up and held Cliffjumper's head. "What's up?!" he asked worriedly.

Suddenly, Cliffjumper began to laugh, "I---" He kept laughing, "I-I think I have a whole in my head that needs repairing too!!"

"Y-You what?!" a smile curled up on Mirage's face and tumbled out of the bunker with Cliffjumper. They wrestled and played on the ground like a couple of sparklings. Even Ratchet's shoulders trembled with delight as he laughed, watching the two.

I stared blankly at the three. Adrian whimpered and saw my distraught face. He lifted himself up in my arms and licked my chin.

"…I hope Cliffjumper doesn't take my place as Mirage's best friend."

END

KristalShaga: It took five days but I got it DONE!! It's not easy trying to make a story based on an episode. You have to get the reactions and dialogue from the characters in the episode just right or you're screwed. Not to mention, to roll in some of your own stuff to make sure there's still a little bit of your on fanfic-writing in the story. And don't worry about Duffy. She's still Mirage's best-_human_-friend. Hope you liked it!


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